Australian Open 2025: Jannik Sinner gets through despite worrying illness

Jannik Sinner looked down and out. Shaking, stumbling, unable to move. Then he called for a medical time-out that changed everything.

Jannik Sinner feels the heat against Holger Rune during their fourth round match on Rod Laver Arena. Picture: Mark Stewart

Jannik Sinner was wobbling around like a drunken sailor. We witnessed controversial tit-for-tat medical time-outs with Holger Rune, stare-offs, momentum swings, terrible points, epic rallies, erratic sets and a wildly see-sawing match. All so unpredictable and suspenseful the net broke.

Sinner woke up feeling crook. Cancelled his mid-morning warm-up ahead of his appointment with Rune at the Australian Open.

Early in the third set at Rod Laver Arena, he trembled uncontrollably at a change of ends, so disorientated he might curl up under his courtside chair for a nap. Then an 11-and-a-half-minute medical time-out sparked Sinner’s revival and a shaky 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-2 fourth-round win.

Sinner shakes hands with Rune after overcoming a worrying illness

“I think we saw that I was not feeling well,” Sinner said. “I was a bit dizzy at times. I don’t want to go into details, no? Then also with the pressure and everything, it was not easy.

“Overall, I think it was a great match. That’s what we have to focus on. Some ups and downs we had and a lot of pressure points. It was a high-quality match.”

When Rune opted for a retaliatory medical break, Sinner laughed because it was so obviously quid pro quo. You didn’t know who was up, who was down, who was fit, who was sick, who was Arthur, who was Martha.

When a booming Sinner serve snapped the bolt attaching the net to the court, it took a while for assistance to arrive. Ever tried getting a tradie after 5pm? Nightmare.

Sinner looked in danger of fainting, or parking a porcelain bus, but neither unsightly possibility came to pass.

“It was very, very tough,” Sinner said in his on-court interview. “I tried to stay there mentally and tried to stay connected with my service game and then see what happens.

“Today the support meant so much to me, so thank you so much. I really needed you guys today. It’s 90 per cent yours and 10 per cent I tried to make you happy. Thank you so much.”

Sinner started the Open worried he might be razzed because of his ongoing doping saga. I haven’t come across a single person who seriously thinks he’s a drug cheat. He received stadium-wide support against Rune.

“This morning was a very strange morning,” he said. “I didn’t even warm up today. I was trying to go on the court as fit as I could but I knew before the match I would struggle. I have to say game-wise, I played well. I served well, quality shots, which gave me the confidence to fight on. The time off the court – me and the doctor, we talked a little bit.”

Must have been quite the chat; you could have sworn Sinner was about to retire. “He came back firing, so I don’t know what they did,” Rune said.

“I think it’s perfectly fine that you check. It was a very warm day, even though there was not sun the whole time. It was very humid, so I was also feeling it, too. It’s fair that he got checked. I think it took longer than I expected, it was around 10 minutes, maybe even more.

“That was a bit brutal in the middle of a set. It is what it is, I couldn’t move on. I had good momentum in this moment so, yeah, it was not the worst timing from his side.”

Sinner tries to stay cool when clearly feeling under the weather.

Rune played too tentatively when he thought Sinner was out on his feet. He played too recklessly when panic set in and Sinner was coming good after Doctor Feelgood’s 11-and-a-half-minute intervention.

“First set, he was better than me,” Rune said. “Second set, I was better. Third set, up until he took the medical time-out, it was really a battle. We had long rallies. We had this one incredible game with sick rallies. It was really, really tough. I was almost dying, also. It was really a struggle.”

Sinner only took the medical time-out at 3-2 in the third set when his entourage shouted across the court for him to do so. He had no intention of doing it before they intervened.

The standard medical break is three minutes. It can be extended when a player, like Sinner here, is taken from the court. In the meantime, Rune sat in his chair, contemplating his navel when the match was delicately poised.

“Around 10, 12 minutes’ break, just sitting in the heat for me cooking out there is a bit tough. I just have to move on and maybe be smarter next time to, I don’t know, wait off the court. Yeah, it was a bit too long.”

Sinner said of his match-altering chat with Doctor Feelgood: “I had a little check-up. It was a bit helpful. I at least felt slightly better when I went back on the court.

“I felt like the face looked a little bit better, the colour was a little bit back. That helped, for sure. It’s tough conditions. Yesterday was hot, today was hot again. Every player struggles a little bit.

“When you’re not there health-wise, where you want to be, it’s even more difficult. He gave me some small medication and then it was slightly better.”